Joe Root confident in Moeen Ali's match-winning ability

Moeen has been one of the stars of The Hundred, smashing 59 off just 28 balls as Birmingham Phoenix captain on Monday evening, the night before his recall was confirmed

Joe Root has backed Moeen Ali to have a significant impact for England if selected at Lord’s on Thursday.

The off-spinning allrounder has played just two home Tests since India last toured in 2018, with his most recent a miserable defeat against Australia at Edgbaston that saw him dropped and replaced by Jack Leach.

However, Moeen claimed eight wickets in Chennai when these sides met in February before he returned home to rest. It was a welcome red-ball display, having lost his Test contract after a poor run of form and then seen his chances scuppered in Sri Lanka at the start of 2021 after testing positive for Covid-19 ahead of the series.

“He’s certainly a big contender,” said Root. “We haven’t been to the ground yet and we’ll look at conditions and weigh things up but he’s in a great position to play.”

England initially named their squad ahead of Ben Stokes’ withdrawal, with Moeen not named among the 17-strong party. Since Stokes was ruled out, though, the home side have been reluctant to select Jack Leach given the difficulty in balancing up the hole left by Stokes’ all-round package.

“That’s why he’s been called up to the squad,” Root explained, “for his capability with both bat and ball. Albeit in a short format he’s in great form at the minute, playing with great confidence, and we all know what he’s capable of in the Test arena. He’s scored big hundreds and won the games with the ball as well and he’s a fine cricketer.”

Moeen has been one of the stars of The Hundred, smashing 59 off just 28 balls as Birmingham Phoenix captain on Monday evening, the night before his recall was confirmed. Root backed him to make a seamless transition from the white-ball game to the Test arena.

^{Moeen Ali has been one of the stars of The Hundred}

“That’s where you have to call upon your experience, when you come into series without much cricket behind you,” he said. “It can be quite tricky sometimes; you want that cricket behind you. As players, we just have to manage the times that we’re in and the scheduling as it is. Yes, I would like to see red-ball cricket alongside Test cricket, but as it is it’s difficult to do. We just have to try to adapt as best as we can.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Mo. I think he’s a wonderful cricketer across the formats, I think he’s a great ambassador for the game and it’s wonderful to see him back in the Test arena, being back in a Test squad. It was a brilliant performance he put in in Chennai and it’s great to see him back around things. If he gets an opportunity, he’ll be desperate to impress and show everyone how good he is in Test cricket, as well as white-ball cricket.

“The message is: just go out there and be Moeen Ali. He has the ability to go and win games on his own with bat and ball. He has proven that in the past; he plays his best cricket when he’s enjoying it and he’s full of confidence. It certainly looks that way at the moment – the way he’s taken to The Hundred.

“With the way he’s led his team, I’d quite happily give him a huge amount of responsibility if he gets the chance to play because he responds extremely well to that. He’s a leader within the dressing room, a great personality, he drags people with him on the field and in the dressing room. It will be great to have him back around.”

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Moeen is not the only player that England might be tempted to bring into the team that was ultimately helped by the weather in Nottingham. Following another difficult outing for a struggling batting line-up, Chris Silverwood suggested on Monday that Ollie Pope is expected to be fit after missing out with a thigh problem last week, while Haseeb Hameed could be in contention for a recall five years on from his Test debut.

“One thing I’d say about [Hameed] is that ever since the first day I met him I’ve been extremely impressed with him as a person, with his maturity as a young man,” said Root.

“We think of him physically maturing but I think his game has grown as well, he’s added shots to what is a very strong defence and has turned himself into a brilliant player. His work ethic is outstanding. He thinks about the game extremely well and it’s great to have had him in and around the squad this summer. If he gets an opportunity I’m sure he’ll look to take it with both hands and try to make the position his own in this team.”